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Posts tagged ‘craft’

A Trip to a Craft Show, To Find Art

One of a Kind Toronto (Photo: OOAK Toronto (c))

One of a Kind Toronto (Photo: OOAK Toronto (c))

Alexandra Holness enjoys visiting the One of a Kind Show, an annual exhibition of creative crafts presented in Toronto. Yet this experience leads her to questions regarding the distinctions made between art and craft. Craft has a useful function and is often created with the intention of selling, and because of these two facts many have placed it in a place somewhere below true “art.” As Holness writes, “So, as it seems, if a piece of art serves some utilitarian purpose or is designed primarily to reap financial profits, it no longer quite deserves that coveted “art” title. This bothers me.”

In this article, Holness takes up the challenge and argues that craft represents the product of imagination and creativity, and so possesses the hallmarks of art — and does not deserve the subordinate position that it is often given. Follow her reflections in “A Trip to a Craft Show, To Find Art” (click here for the full article).

Finding the Beautiful Before Us: When Craft Becomes Art

SF-1975-1-1373Often creative works are dismissed as mere “craft” because they have a useful function, and their utility may prompt us to overlook their artistry. Andrew Swensen argues that this prejudice could prevent us from finding  remarkable art works in our immediate environments, some of which we discover only after time has removed their usefulness. We may also find profound artistic statements in places where creative expression takes the form of traditional crafts.

So step into the world where transforming craft into art may be a function of altering our reception, and giving credit where credit is due. Step into “Finding the Beautiful Before Us: When Craft Becomes Art” (click here to read full article).

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